Indian State to Plant 160 Million Jatropha Plants in Quest for Biofuel Self-Sufficiency

4 April 2006

Kerala. The Indian state of Chhattisgarh will plant 160 million jatropha saplings in all its 16 districts this year with the aim of becoming a biofuel self-reliant state by 2015. (Earlier post.)

Some 80 million of the jatropha plants are to be planted by the forest department in wasteland areas, according to the report by the Indo-Asian News Service. Jatropha can thrive under a variety of geo-climatic conditions, has a low gestation period and a high seed-yield.

“In a bid to inspire small farmers for mass cultivation of jatropha, the government has decided to provide 500 jatropha saplings free of cost to farmers interested to cultivate it and 50 paise per sapling will be charged for above 500 saplings,” the [unnamed] official said.

The state of Chhattisgarh plans to earn Rs.40 billion (US$895 million) annually by selling seeds after 2010. It has advised the central government to introduce a national biofuel policy and provide a massive grant to states working on a long-term policy to emerge as biofuel self-reliant.

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Tracked on April 06, 2006 at 09:01 AM

Comments

building fuel and a forest simultaneuosly. that is beautiful.

if not for the history of oppression and modern situation of corruption, incredible poverty and war in Saharan Africa, maybe a similar initiative would work there.

once you plant enough trees in the marginal areas, they will improve the soil and increase the moisture in the air, introducing moisture to areas downwind. through this process, the whole saharan desert could be reclaimed and (re)forested.

and if it is done using a high concentration of legumes (which are usually high in oil and also improve soil through nitrogen fixation) the forest could be a fuel source.

India does not possess significant fossil fuel assets of its own, so biofuels are part of an intelligent long-term energy strategy for this tropical country. The plant also has many secondary uses.

However, there are a few things worth noting:

a) Jathropa Curcas, though widely planted in India already, is not native to the subcontinent. Massive monocultures could very easily favor the establishment of pests that could also harm indigenous species.

b) Biodiesel is sulphur-free and produces less PM by mass than regular diesel. However, it produces just as much of the very fine, invisible PM2,5 (<2.5 micrometer) that represent the greatest danger to respiratory health. Therefore, India should also promote the use of particulate filters, at least on trucks and railway locomotives. Western solutions may still be prohibitively expensive for them, but the country has a large number of excellent engineers who can probably figure out retrofit strategies that they can then export to other countries.

I'm now in Thailand and doing foodstuffs business. I found Jetropha as one of most possible raw material of bio-diesel and it's getting much reputation in India.
If possible I would like to do plantation of Jetropha as business in future.
So please kindly advise about general information about Jetropha in India such as yield, production acres, oil specification and so on..

Anyone interested in Jatropha curcas plants, its plantation, maintenance/contract farming, please contact : 94441 17756
Already we have good plantation coverage in Tamil Nadu, India and we have experience in this field. Anyone who has genuine interest alone contact.

DEAR SIR,
IT IS TO INFORM YOU THAT, OURS IS A NON- GOVT- ORG NAMED AS (NORTH EAST REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONSORTIUM) SERVING SINCE 2001.

THAT SIR, GOVT OF ASOM(FOREST DEPT)HAS TAKEN A ECO-FRIENDLY BIO-DIVERSITY PROJECT FOR BIO-DIESEL EXTRACTION FROM JETROPHA PLANT. THE PROJECT JETROPHA HAS BEEN SANCTIONED UNDER THE PRIME INITIATIVE OF GOVT. OF INDIA AND ASOM .

THAT SIR , I AM VERY MUCH PLEASED TO INFORM YOU OUR ORGANISATION HAS BEEN INVITED TO LOOK INTO THE PROGRAME AND ACTIVITIES FOR SPREADING AWARENESS PROGRAME AND OTHER ACTIVITIES.

BASICALLY, WE PLANNED TO PREPARE A DOCUMENTARY VIDEO-MAGAZINE BECAUSE OF THE RECALL VALUE WITH A MAX TIME DURATION OF 90 MINS FOR VARIOUS ORGANISATIONS/GROUPS THAT TO TARGET AUDIENCE PROVIDING ALL THE DETAIL INFORMATION IN IT.

HENCE,IN THE INTEREST OF THE PROJECT I EARNESTLY,REQUEST YOU TO ASSOCIATE WITH US FOR THE AWARENESS PROGRAME AND PROVIDE US YOUR EXPERTS OPINION AND SUGGETION.

FOR YOUR KIND INFORMATION YOUR CONTRIBUTION WILL BE ACKNOWLEDGED, WE SHALL ASK YOU TO SEND THE DETAIL FORMAT WITH OTHER PARTICULARS AND ON HEARING FROM YOU IN THE AFFIRMATIVE SEND YOUR TERMS AND CONDITION.

Dear Sirs,
I have around 40 acres land presently growing various kinds of Horticultural items.
I'm interested in Jatropha plantation.
Kindly give me more and more details on the same as to what kind of land is suitable for this plantation.
From where to get the seeds or seedlings of this plant.
Kindly provide me contact details too.
I'm based in Karnataka State.
Thanks.
Rafiq Ahmed Shimoga